Golf club



April 21, 1925. 1,534,600

' G. W. MATTER N GOLF CLUB Filed July 21, 1921 A TTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,534,600 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. MATTERN, OF DAYTON, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR TO AND CANBY COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

GOLF CLUB.

Application filed July 21, 1921. Serial No. 486,484.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoner. WV. MATTERN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to the mode of weighting or balancing the club by the addition of a body of metal thereto.

The object of the invention is to increase the ehiciency of the club by improving its driving power and accuracy of the stroke by embodying in the head of the club a pcculiarly shaped body of metal as hereafter described.

A further object of the invention is to minimize the tendency of an unskilled player to slice or to hook in the event that the ball is engaged toward the heel or the toe of the club.

A further and quite important feature of the invention is to overcome the swedging or displacement of the material of the weighting body under the impact of repeated blows, whereby the center of gravity of the head is shifted by causing the weighting metal to recede from one side of the pocket or mortise and to protrude at the opposite side thereof. Such flow or displacement of the weight is quite common in golf clubs which are subjected to hard usage.

One of the primary features of the pres- .ent invention is to concentrate the weight on the central line of the stroke and substantially on line with the point of impact, and to further so shape the weight as to minimize its flow or swedging action..

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction capable of standardization which will enable the weight of embedded body to be varied to suit difi'erent' conditions of play and the requirements of different players. v 1

With the above primary and other incidentalobjeots in viewas will more fully appear in thefspecification, the invention consists of the .featuresof construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation or their equivalents as hereinafter described and set forth in the claims, f y i I Referring to the accompanying drawings,

wherein is. disclosed the preferred, but obviously not the only embodiment of the invention, Fig. l is a perspective view of a golf club head, showing the counter-weight forming the subject matter hereof, embed ded therein. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thru the golf club head, exposing the embedded weight. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the weight body removed fromthe club'head. Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a golf club head illustrating the customary form of the weight and the manner in which it is displaced or swedged to one side in lay.,

ike parts are indicated by similar charactors of reference thruout the several views. It has been quite usual in the past to modify the balance by the addition of a weight usually comprising a body of metal embedded in the golf club head. A common method of applying such counter-balance or weight is to form a mortise or recess inthe rear of the head, and to fill such mortise or recess with molten metal, preferably lead or some alloy of which lead is a predominating ingredient. The metal body is anchored by suitable means, sometimes by undercutting the mortise and in other times by providing screws, nails or studs which project into the mortise, and around which the metal weight is cast, and in other instances by providing ramifications or passages leading in different directions from the mortise or recess into which the molten metal runs. In suchconstruction, this weight is distributed ununiformly and over a considerable extent. Under the impact of repeated blows while in play, the metal is driven laterally usually toward the heel of the club where it sometimes protrudes to a considerable extent as is shown at a in Fig. 5. At the same time this displacement of the material of the weight causes it to recede from the outer or toe side of the mortise as shown at b. This dis- THE CRAWFORD, McGRE-GOR placement gradually shifts the center of materially' affected.

players require clubs different or of greater or less weight.

Different ly balanced,

To vary the weight of the club with. the

usual method of applying the metal in the mortise it is necessary to enlarge the which cannot be conveniently done and moreover, the process of manufacture can not be standardized. I

The present invention is designed to overcome these difiiculties by providing a centrally disposed enlargement upon the weight from which extend comparatively narrow or thin wings, laterally disposed in relation with the central weight. This central mass of material is of a substantially conoidal form and is preferably located in alignment which receives the with the point of impact, whereby the mass of the weight is in the line of stroke.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 is the head of a golf club and 2 the counterbalance weight embedded in the rear face thereof. This counter balance weight comprises a central conoidal body 3 from which extends laterally arcuate tapered wing portions 4.

Whereas in the old form of construction, shown in Fig. 5 very little wood is left at the top and bottom of the mortise, thus weakening the head, in the present construction, a

' much larger volume of the wood remains and hence the head is very much stronger and enabled to resist more severe usage. \Vith the type of weight shown in Fig. 5, which is that commonly employed, many clubs are broken or split due to the weakness of the club head by the enlargement of the mortise to accommodate a counter balance of large size. In the present instance, increased weight is added by making the central depression or socket for the conoidal portion 3 of the counter balance of greater or less depth. The central socket or recess conoidal head 3 is preferably formed by a suitably shaped drill or auger bit. Thus by drilling the hole to greater or less depth into the head 1, the central mass 3 may be varied in size. The

. recess for the lateral wing like extension 4 of the counter balance weight are formed by making an arcuate incision, preferably with a rotary cutter, having a thickness equal to the maximum thickness of the wing section t, and its edge beveled or reduced to form a V shape cut. This cut or incision may be standardized by making it the same size and extent in every golf club head, and then varying the wei ht or adding metal to the counter balance by making the central depression or socket 5 for the conoidal head 3 of greater or less depth. The diameter of this recess will remain the same, for counter balances of different size and weight. counter balance of great weight will approach no more closely to the top and bottom faces of the club head than will one of very small weight and the exterior appearance of the club head will be the same in all instances. To anchor the weight in place, there have been shown in the drawing diagonally disposed lugs or ramifications 6 I vention is therefore formed by drilling divergent holes in the bottom of the recess or pocket and preferably but not necessarily threading such holes interiorly. The molten metal to form the counter balance weight is poured into the prepared recess or mortise. A portion of the metal runs into the diagonally disposed threaded holes to form the divergent anchorage lugs 6. The metal completely fills not only the central socket 0r deflection 5 but also the laterally disposed incision or narrow cut forming integrally and in situ in the club head the conoidal head 3, with the laterally extending wings and divergent anchorage lug. The exterior face of the club and wing are then finished to a flush and uniform surface.

The form or outline of the enlarged central mass of the wing forming a rather abrupt shoulder at its intersection with the wing portion 2, resists the displacement or deflection of the metal which will not readily change its shape to pass from the large recess to the smaller one. The body is thus anchored against lateral displacement and the lateral pressure upon the wing portion of the weight is insufficient to force it from itis to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise but one of several modesof putting the invention into effect, and the mclaimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and validscope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my lnvention, I claim:

1. The combination with a golf club head, having a mortise therein, the plane of which is substantially parallel with the sole of the club head, of reentrant shoulders formed in said mortise substantially perpendicular to A the plane thereof, and a counter balance weight located in said mortise, the lateral deflection of which is arrested by said reentrant shoulders.

2. The combination with a golf club head ,having a slot therein, the plane of which is substantially parallel with the sole of the club head, the medial portion of which is abruptly enlarged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said slot, and a counter balance weight seated in said mortise.

3. A golf club head having a circular bore formed therein and having a slot of less width than the diameter of the circular bore intersecting the bore and extending in opposite directions therefrom in a plane substantially coincident with the axis of the bore, and a body of balancing material embedded in the mortise formed by the intercommunicating slot and bore.

at. A golf club head having therein a ntortise of elongated slot like form said mortise being abruptly enlarged at a medial point to form substantially oppositely disposed reentrant shoulders and a body of balancing material embedded in said mortise.

The combination with a golf club head of a balance weight therefor, comprising a body having a medial conoidal enlargement and laterally disposed wing portions disposed in planes substantially parallel with the axis of said conoidal enlargement, extending therefrom.

6. The combination with a golf club head,

of a balance'weight therefor, comprising a body lnwin'g a medial circular enlargement and laterally disposed wings integral with said circular enlargement and extending in a plane substantially parallel with the sole of the club head.

7. The combination with a golf club head, of a balance weight therefor, comprising a body having a medial enlargement and laterally extending wing portions forming an abrupt juncture with the medial enlargement and extending in opposite directions therefrom in planes substantially parallel with the sole of the club head.

8. The combination with a 'golf club head having therein a. mortise to receive a balance Weight, said mortise comprising an arcuate incision the margin of which is tapered and side a mortise extending a bore, the axis of which is substantially in the plane of the incision but of greaterdiameter whereby the bore extends laterally beyond the incision, and a weight body filling said mortise.

9. A golf club head having in its rear substantially parallel with the sole of the club head, a slug of balancing material embedded in said mortise, and ribs formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the slug having interlocking engagement with the club head by means of corresponding grooves in the sides of the mortise into which such ribs extend.

10. A golf club head having therein a mortise provided with lateral grooves extending inwardly from the mouth of the mortise, and a body of balancing material embedded in the mortise with portions thereof extending into said grooves to afford aninterlocking engagement between the body and club head.

11. The combination with a golf club head of a slug of balancing material embedded therein, said slug and club head having interlocking shoulders extending in a general fore and aft direction and intermediate the ends of the slug by which the displacement of the balancing material within the mortise is resisted.

12. The combination with a golf club head of a balancing'slug embedded therein comp1 ising a central enlarged body and laterally extending wing portions projecting n opposite directions from the central body in a substantially, common plane and of less thickness than the central body.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of July A. D. 1921.

GEORGE WV. MATTERN.

lVitnesses:

HARRY F. NOLAN, GEORGE C. HELWIG. 

